Moments

Saturday’s Daily Word Moments confirms how I want to live my life.

I take time to live in and appreciate each moment of the day.

Remember the wonderful works. – Psalm 105:5

Last week our family was wondering if all the feral cats we have been feeding outside our barn for over 8 years were all gone (read: dead). We have grown attached to them and hadn't seen any of them for awhile. Over the years we’ve been feeding these cats, we’ve also seen raccoons and red and gray foxes outside the barn, stopping by for cat food. Eating can be a dangerous activity since the cats are in the open and vulnerable.

I went to the barn Friday mid-afternoon, hopeful, and started calling the most “tame” of our cats – Callie. “Breakfast, Callie,” I called. I clapped my hands and shook the food bowl to entice her if she was within hearing range. I was thrilled to see Callie appear at the edge of the woods. She did not come running to me like she usually does. She was watchful, looking all directions and remaining still at the edge. I waited and called, “it’s okay.” After about five minutes she came over to eat. I pulled a stool by her bowl and watched her as she ate. She looked up regularly to scan the woods. I’d never seen her so skittish before.

I quietly sat watching her for several minutes. When I wondered if I was “wasting time,” I immediately realized that no, I wasn’t wasting time, I was enjoying this moment in our lives – Callie’s and mine.

After she ate, she came toward me and began to wind her body between my shoes, rubbing along my legs. I picked her up and held and stoked her for several minutes. She began to purr, stretch and settle in my arms as I continued to pet her. When she wanted to eat some more, I let her down and continued to watch her for a little while. When I closed the barn door, I promised I would see her tomorrow. And I did. She came back on Saturday too. Saturday was a beautiful sunny, 70 degree day. It was a pleasure to sit with her and enjoy the day. She came a little more easily on Saturday and we had more petting moments.

Part of Saturday’s meditation:

Today I set an intention to be fully aware of God’s presence, to notice the small things: the butterflies and birds, the laughter as well as the quiet. Throughout the journey of today, I will focus less on my destination and more on the route that gets me there…My heart of thanks and my openness to the occurrences of the day fill me with a deeper awareness of my oneness with all life.

I wish you many special moments – that you notice the small things each day. With love,

~ JEAN

Gratitude and Grace = Love and Happiness

Rebooting myself - Update: Before I went to Arizona for my vaction I finished reading The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. The chapter I'm focusing on today is titled "the path of unconditional happiness." Here are some passages I underlined in my book:

"The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience... To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life... Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy?... If you keep it that simple, you will see that it really is under your control... Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens? ... You have to give an unconditional answer... Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, something inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth. In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that makes this the highest path... You just have to decide whether or not you will break your vow..."

The reason I underlined these sentences is because I want to commit to unconditional happiness. To do that requires me to seriously think about the "decide whether or not you will break your vow." So my mind goes to fear: What if this or that happens? How will I feel then? Will I still be able to be unconditional happy?

During my vacation, I signed up for the Oprah Winfrey's and Deepak Chopra's online 21-Day Meditation Experience on "Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude." The first day's Centering Thought was "When I am grateful, I find my grace." Every day for 21 straight days I heard a short message on gratitude and grace from Oprah and from Deepak and then meditated for about 10 minutes.

I have discovered that unconditional happiness and gratitude go together. No matter what, there is something to be grateful for - and that puts me into grace which I equate with happiness, joy, love and contentment.

An example: I was talking to a friend who is a member of the Friends of the Hunterdon County Library a couple days ago. She had just heard about a relative with cancer and I had heard recently about a young wife and mother of two who is friends with my stepson being diagnosed with cancer. Rather than going into despair, I was able to say that we both could be grateful that we can be supportive of these women and their families in any and every possible way.

There truly is always something to be grateful for.

~ JEAN

Rebooting Myself

I'm going to Tucson, Arizona, tomorrow with my sister to do some bird watching and hiking. I also realized today that I'm going to use those 10 days away to reboot myself - about attitude, eating and outlook on life.

I committed several weeks ago to being unconditionally happy - no matter what. And mostly I am but life happens and it was so helpful to read today's Daily Word message on Divine Order:

Unity Minister and author Eric Butterworth shared the following thought: "Things may happen around you, and things may happen to you, but the only things that matter are the things that happen in you."

Somewhere else I read (don't remember where but probably sometime around Easter or Christmas) that every day is an opportunity to be reborn, to start over - a rebirth. So off to Arizona I go - looking very forward to rebooting myself. See you all in April.

With much love.

~ JEAN

In The Silence

When I was young, my parents apparently quickly identified that I needed alone time. I was the second of five children, the oldest girl. My two brothers shared one large bedroom and we three sisters shared the other large bedroom. My parents had theirs – and there was a small fourth bedroom. I don’t remember what it was used for.

Then the unexpected happened, by me anyway. My parents gave me the fourth bedroom. To make the experience even more special, they let me pick out a new bedspread and curtains and the wall color to match. I chose a yellow and white striped spread with some orange and forest green accents. They had a chair I liked to read in re-covered in forest green to match. I was thrilled.

Whenever I fell into a bad mood, they sent me to my room to read not really as a punishment but because, they said, when I re-emerged I was my usually sunny personality.

All this is a lead up to show how much the Daily Word for February 19 means to me: In the Silence. Back when I was a girl, I had no clue about being in the silence, about being one with Holy Spirit, about affirmative prayer or about Unity principles. My parents, though, knew I needed silence. From the meditation:

Mother Teresa once said: “God is the friend of silence.” I feel my oneness with Spirit when I choose to spend time in the Silence. As I do this regularly, I experience an unmistakable sense of peace. I find clarity in all that I do. I forgive more easily. I open myself to new and profound inspiration.

For a short time after I moved out of my family’s home I shared an apartment with one of my sisters. Soon I was able to purchase my beloved little yellow house in my home town in a suburb of Illinois. I loved living alone. I didn’t care a whole lot about decorating my house but I did create a quiet, comfortable haven for myself to come home to either after school, after work or after being out socializing with friends. My little house on Morgan Ave. was my private space where I could be in the silence whenever I wanted.

Then in 2002 I fell in love, got married and moved to New Jersey. All of a sudden, I was sharing a home with another person. It took me awhile to learn how to create my own space, privacy and silence while living with someone. I made over a room upstairs into a sitting room for myself. I bought a couple book shelves where I keep many of my spiritual books. I have a comfortable chair by one of the windows where I can look out over our field where our three alpacas live. Most importantly, I can sit there in the silence, I can journal in that chair when I’m sorting something out.

Continuing the mediation:

I live, however, in a world that is not completely quiet. In order to find silence in the midst of the everyday clamor of life, I take a moment to close my eyes and find an inner quiet and calm. It was there all along. I simply needed to remember. I can draw on this divine serenity at any time. I simply choose to release any concerns or anxiety. 

Be still, and know that I am God! – Psalm 46:10

This is true when I’m home. This is true when I take a moment in my car to breath. This is true when I’m outside walking my dog. Finally, the affirmation:

I immerse myself in the loving, comforting awareness of Spirit.

And that is what I hope for each and every one of us.

~ JEAN

Having Belleville was very good

Last September 15, our dog Belleville, a miniature Schnauzer, went to doggie heaven. The last couple of years of his life, he was being medicated for a heart murmur that got louder and louder. He underwent several ultrasounds. He was on medication for that and had begun to refuse his food or sometimes eat it and then throw it up. We tried adding warm water to make what we hoped would be gravy – that didn’t work. Then we tried adding broth. He liked that though sometimes he kept it down and sometimes not. He was losing weight – getting skinnier and skinnier.

He was still sleeping through the night most nights. Most days he could walk the full half mile morning and afternoon with our other younger dog Gus. He was sweet, affectionate and a joy to have around. He was my soulmate doggie.

I was leaving town the next week; my husband and I were both anxious whether he would still be with us when I returned. Neither of us wanted him to leave us when I was away. We decided on a Monday that we would take him to the vet on Saturday for the shot. Calling to make the appointment brought tears. Our vet is very considerate and schedules this kind of appointment for the last one of the day – in the case of Saturday – at noon.

I spent that entire week sitting with him every opportunity, petting him and loving him. I loved having that time with Belleville. It was important for me to be with him as much as possible. I also took that time to accept that this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. On Friday night, my husband and I shared tears anticipating having this special dog gone.

When I married my husband in October 2002, I moved to NJ bringing my beloved old Schnauzer named Weaver with me. He died in July 2003. My husband surprised me with Belleville, a 4 month old puppy, for Christmas that year. Fifteen wonderful years later we both knew it was time to say goodbye.

On Saturday, we both had our together time with Belleville. He sat on my lap in the car on the way to the vet. I went in to pay and my husband had some time holding him on his lap. When the vet called us in to the treatment room, we both held Belleville. He lay calmly on his belly and we petted him and told him that we loved him. The vet gave him the shot and then monitored his heartbeat until there wasn’t a heartbeat any more. More tears and extreme sadness.

We wrapped Belleville in a towel from home and brought him back home to bury. I held him like a baby, which he wouldn’t have allowed if he’d been alive. I stroked his head and kissed him. He was warm and soft. It was very therapeutic. We put a square stone over Belleville’s grave. Then we went inside to take our other dog Gus for a walk. As we walked down the driveway, Gus stopped and looked back – we both instantly knew he was looking for Belleville.

In the days following the burial, I realized that I was feeling a great deal of peace around this experience. My anxiety about Belleville’s health lifted. I have only good memories. I also gave and am giving Gus a lot of attention and love because his buddy is missing.

When I saw the Daily Word for February 20: Pet Blessing I realized I would be able to write about our beloved Belleville and about Gus and about our experience.

The meditation reads in part:

“Pets are amazing companions. They are loyal friends and the embodiment of the spirit of love … Pets stand by their human companions – without judgment, filled with unconditional love. I take this moment now to acknowledge the pets in my life both present and past. With my thoughts I bestow a blessing on all pets.
So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air. Genesis 2:19”

I add this verse: And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31

Having Belleville was very good and I am so grateful.

~ JEAN

The Power of the White Stone Name

Dear readers, Sorry for my long absence. I intend to write more regularly in 2019.

One of my favorite services at Unity is the White Stone Mediation Service. We just had ours on January 6th.

As Rev Carmela said, some of us may not get our name right away. That was what happened for me. The next Tuesday I drove to the Hunterdon County Library parking lot in Clinton and sat in silence gazing at the lawn running up to the Spruce Run Reservoir. Three white tail deer scampered along the fence dividing the library property and the reservoir - they were looking for a way through the fence - did they want water or just the woods surrounding much of the reservoir? Seeing them was an auspicious beginning to my time of silence. And then my name came to me.

Many of us will not be sharing our names generally as we internalize the lessons meant for us about the name throughout 2019. That is the case for me.

I took my 2018 stone out of my purse and replaced it with my 2019 stone. The 2018 stone now has joined all my stones since 2014. When I read my stones for each year, lessons learned flooded back to me about each.

My White Stone name for 2016 was Mirror. I regularly, throughout that year and since, notice that what I'm seeing out in the world is mirroring back to me. When I see beauty and happiness, I'm feeling that. When I see chaos and fear and anger, I'm feeling that. In fact, the desktop picture on my computer at Unity is a woman looking in a mirror.

Each year's name is powerful in one way or another.

I wish you each an inspirational White Stone name for 2019. We have extras in the office if anyone needs one.

Lots of love,

~ JEAN

September Wisdom

Hi all, Here are some thoughts and wisdom from a couple Daily Word entries for September. First is the affirmation for September 10 when the DW was Wisdom:

Divine wisdom guides my daily choices.

Thank you, God life within, for that. Then along comes September 20 when the DW is Confidence. I'm including the entire meditation here:

I may have forgotten how it felt to master walking as a toddler or how many times I had to pick myself up and start over again. As adults, we can gain inspiration by observing the progress, determination and confidence of a child.

These seeds of resilience are still with me, waiting to be activated through belief and faith in my divine essence within. What is it that I would like to accomplish, what dream, what skills, what travels, what overcoming? I pray for guidance and direction. I listen.

I begin with one trusting step forward. Then another. My faith is strong, no matter how many times I need to redirect or start over. God life within is my strength. I live in confidence and trust in my higher self. 

Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. - Hebrews 10:35

I have this resilience in me and it is going to launch me into things I want to accomplish. Again, thank you, God life within, for that.

~ JEAN